Bill Nighy (Living, About Time) will star opposite Caitríona Balfe in Alfonso Cuarón’s new horror-thriller Apple TV series Ascension, co-showrun by Natalie Erika James and Christian White.
Inspired by the novel Last Days by Adam Nevill, Ascension is a one-hour psychological horror thriller following Rose (Balfe), a relentless documentary filmmaker and recently divorced mother who is brilliant at uncovering others’ truths but struggling to resolve her own. When Rose begins a project on a mysterious 20th-century cult known as the Church of Ascension, she finds unexpected refuge in its teachings — until she discovers something far more insidious beneath.
The series explores evil and innocence at the highest level, while asking how far we’ll go — and what we’ll sacrifice — to protect the ones we love, even when the greatest threat to them may be ourselves.
In a series regular role, Nighy will play Zac, a documentarian who hires Rose to work with him on a new project, sources say.
Apple Studios will serve as the studio, and Esperanto Filmoj’s Gabriela Rodriguez and Richard Schwartz will executive produce alongside Alfonso Cuarón and Carlos Cuarón. Steve Golin, David Levine and Zack Hayden executive produce for Anonymous Content. James and White also serve as executive producers. The series is written by James, White, Alfonso Cuarón and Carlos Cuarón, with James serving as lead director. Anonymous Content also produces.
Nighy is a multi-award-winning actor of both the stage and screen who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor (Living) and has received a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor (Love Actually), among many other accolades. Most recently, he starred in Morgan Matthews’ 500 Miles, Jason Statham’s Shelter, Prime Video’s Lazarus, and Netflix’s Joy. Nighy was most recently seen starring in the six-part BBC series California Avenue, and Prime Video’s Ride or Die. He is repped by Independent Talent in the U.K. and UTA.